The authors analysed almost 260,000 measurement points from surveys of radiofrequency (RF) field strengths near radio base stations in seven African countries over two time frames from 2001 to 2003 and 2006 to 2012. The data was sourced from surveys published in the open literature (Ghana and Nigeria), government sources (Ivory Coast, Mauritania and Zambia) and EMSS Consulting studies (Botswana and South Africa).
Joyner and his colleagues compared the South African measurements with the ICNIRP limits, and observed that the median radiofrequency field strengths at ground level were 11,800 to 105,100 times below the limits for the general public. “Measured environmental RF signal levels from mobile network antenna sites in African countries are typically many thousands of times below the international human RF exposure recommendations, similar to values reported in countries of the Americas. Europe and Asia, and the consensus of international public health authorities is that these weak signals do not cause adverse health effects.”